Better and Impressive
by Em Kay Who
Summary: Rose and the Doctor end up having a talk after what happened in Van Statten's bunker.


**A/N: This is my pinch-hit dwsecretsanta gift for countessselena over on tumblr. She wanted a post-Dalek fic with Nine and Rose! My sincerest apologies go to her for the wait!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related.**

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 _'_ _What a day,'_ the Doctor thought to himself as he made his way from his bedroom to the control room. He could calculate down to the nanosecond of how long it had been from the moment they stepped into Van Statten's "museum" to the moment the TARDIS dematerialized, but he was just too damn tired. As soon as they were safely away from the bunker, the Time Lord piloted the TARDIS through the vortex and found a nice quiet corner of space for them to float though while Rose showed their newest passenger around and the Doctor went to change his jumper. It was such minor thing, but it was something he could control, and a fresh jumper that didn't have the stench of fear and death clinging to it was just thing.

As he entered the control room, the Doctor was surprised to find Rose curled up in the doorway of the TARDIS with the doors wide open so she could enjoy the view. "Thought you'd still be showing your new boyfriend around," he commented, alerting her to his presence.

She shook her head and scooted over to make room for him. Holding a large mug of tea close to her chest, she replied, "Nah. Found him a room for the night. Left him there to marvel in privacy."

The Time Lord snorted as he settled down next to her. He quickly noticed her body shiver, drawing attention to the fact that she was only wearing a thin t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Rolling his eyes, he shrugged his leather jacket off and settled it over her shoulders. "How many times have I told you that space is cold?"

"Sometimes I like the cold," she replied as she snuggled into the jacket, putting a smile on the Doctor's face.

"Is that why you're always asking me to take you to beaches then?"

"I said sometimes." She passed him her mug, saying, "For the record, he's not my boyfriend."

"Maybe not yet," he responded wryly, taking a large drink of her tea.

"Not ever."

He passed the mug back to her. "Is that why you invited him along?"

"I just thought... I don't know," she sighed. "It's silly now. I was being silly. Stupid and silly."

"Oi! Don't say that!"

She shrugged. "Why? It's the truth. When I first went off with Adam today, he thought he was just amazing. And, yes, he has school smarts, but the things he was saying about aliens and tech, god, he had no idea what he was talking abut, Doctor."

"Course he didn't."

Rose exhaled slowly. "I thought I could show him. I mean, he works underground, hiding in the dark with all this stuff that he can only guess is extraterrestrial, but I've been out there. I've been to a different planets and times, conversed with aliens. I thought I could show 'im. Be impressive like you. Then I set the Dalek free. It's my fault all those people are dead, all because for once in my life I wanted to be the person in the room who knew the most. I wanted to be the smart one. The impressive one."

The Doctor stared at her in shock. "Rose, what happened today was not your fault. Not in any way."

"I killed those people."

"The Dalek killed those people."

"Because of me," she argued.

"No!" he retorted sharply.

"Yes, Doctor. Think about all those people. They had names, families, lives outside that bunker, and now they're dead because of me."

He huffed, turning his body so he could face her directly. "Listen to me, Rose Tyler. What happened today is not your fault. And I will repeat it until I'm blue in the face if I have to." He reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "There are so many people and circumstances that can be blamed, but not you. Not in any way."

"I could have left well enough alone, but I insisted Adam take me down to see the Dalek," she told him, her voice thick with tears.

He nodded. "And why was that? It's not just because you wanted to be impressive. I know you, Rose."

"They were hurting it and I didn't know where you were," she answered, her voice thick with tears.

A small smile settled on his face. "There she is. There's my Rose. You saw something, you had no idea what it was, but you saw that it was being treated kindly and you wanted to do something about it. To save it. That's fantastic. Your heart was in the right place, Rose."

"I don't think anything will change how I feel, Doctor," she said softly. "I keep seeing the faces of everyone in the bunker. I don't think I'll ever forget them."

He inhaled slowly. "No, you probably won't. But the guilt?" He exhaled. "I can't take that away from you, Rose, much as I wish I could. It probably won't ever go away completely. It will ease though, eat at you less, and there will be a day where you be able to get up and not feel completely overwhelmed. It will get better."

Rose set her mug down and swiped away the tears that had fallen. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I can't imagine what seeing the Dalek was like for you. I'm sorry you were in that position."

"Not something I ever thought I would see again outside of my nightmares, that's for sure." He sniffed. "Do you remember that day we went for chips and I told you about the Time War and how I ended it?"

"Course."

"I'll never forget their faces. My people, the others who were caught in the crossfire, even the the Daleks."

"You did what was best for the universe, though," she told him, not for the first time.

"I suppose that's true," he agreed, turning back so he face the open TARDIS doors. "At least, I hope it's true. It's what I tell myself to keep surviving day after day, but it doesn't lessen the guilt I feel."

Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I wish I could make it better for you."

"But that's just it! You do, Rose. The knowledge that my actions to end the Time War were for the better of the universe doesn't make me feel better, but the fact that you can look at me and honestly tell me that I did the right thing, well, that makes it better. You make me better."

She stared at him in complete shock. Who was she to make this rare, amazing being better? She was a shop girl from a council estate. She wasn't anyone important. ' _I'm not anything special-'_ she stopped the thought in it's tracks. That was no longer the truth. Travelling with the Doctor made her realise that she was somebody and she was unique to the universe. She was special and the Doctor helped her understand that.

"You make me better too," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The Doctor shook his head. "Nah, you don't need me for that," he deflected.

Feeling a rush of boldness, Rose turned her head and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Yes, I do." A blush quickly spread across her cheeks. "S-sorry. Sorry! I didn't think- I mean, I know you don't-mmf!" she was cut off by the Doctor swooping down and capturing her lips with his. "Oh," she whispered when he finally pulled away.

"That all right?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. "Been wanting to do that for awhile it be honest.

"Yeah... really all right," she answered, still breathless. "I was the one who kissed you first after all."

"Yes, you were. Always the brave one, Rose Tyler," he said with a grin before leaning down to kiss her once more.

After several moments of (in Rose's opinion) rather brilliant snogging, she pulled away, a contended smile on her face that stayed until a thought struck her. "Doctor, what are we going to do about Adam?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We'll take him on a trip or two and see how he does. But, he's your boyfriend so don't expect me to babysit him. You'll take the lead tomorrow. Show him your impressive skills."

"You know," she drawled, moving so her legs straddled his on either side, "I have several impressive skills I'd rather not show Adam."

He began pressing kisses across her collar bone. "Do you? Well then, impress away."

And impress she did.


End file.
